Rebellion.   War.   Protests.  These are concepts associated with the ‘60s--the tumultuous 1360’s.   While we may think of the Middle Ages as a time of oppressive religious hegemony and conformity, many medieval authors wrote strong protest literature that advocated and agitated for the rights of the disenfranchised.  And, if we are careful researchers and readers, we will find hidden a number of texts that counter the hegemony of monarchy and the clergy.  Specifically, we will read such texts as Piers Plowman, The Second Shepherd’s Play, Richard the Redeless: And Mum and the Sothsegger, and original medieval manuscripts such as Wycliff’s Commentary on the Apocalypse and A Tretise on Prestys.  In reading these texts we will address, among many others, the following questions:

• What were the particular concerns of dissenting writers?
• How did the translation of the bible and bible commentaries function as dissent literature?
• How did writers turn their dissent into various forms of literature? (Poetry, prose, drama, etc.)
• How did the author’s occupation influence dissent writing?
• Who wrote in an effort to repress dissenting voices?
• Who were the variegated audiences for dissent literature?
• How was medieval dissent literature disseminated?

The African American Literary Canon seminar examines the works of Black writers as an evolving canon in Literary and Cultural Studies.  By focusing on the texts in the context of canon, we will attempt to explore the works outside of the limitations of a historical survey and understand art produced by the African Diaspora as a transnational cultural product.  We will make extensive use of film as critical and narrative in this seminar, and hopefully, during this semester we will gain a wider perspective on the literature and culture of the Americas.

John Milton was one of England’s most controversial, celebrated, and reviled writers.  As the course title suggests, we will study Milton’s poetry and prose within the context of the many revolutions in which he was a major figure: revolutions in politics, theology, poetics, and philosophy.  One of our goals will be to examine not only how Milton – and the culture in which he was embedded – constructed meaning but also why it is important for us to undertake such an examination.  We will consider how reading Milton’s works enables us to understand more fully our own constructed selves.  With careful attention to textual and cultural analyses, students will continue their development as independent thinkers, close readers, and persuasive writers.  What we learn in the process will be invaluable for our engagement with the complexity and versatility of language, literature, and culture. As the English Department mission statement affirms, such engagement “broadens our perspective on the world; enables us to explore and consider human values; and enriches our personal and public lives.”